by Rachel Aaron
His eyebrows shot up at that, but his voice was as serious as ever when he asked, “What happened to you?”
“Which part?” Because there’d been a lot.
“Any of it,” he said, looking me up and down. “You’re one of the best Cleaners. I’ve seen you buy units guys like DeSantos dismissed as junk and turn them into piles of money. Out of all of us solo sellers, I would have bet money that you were making the most, so what happened? How did you get so broke?”
The confusion in his voice made me cringe, because I remembered the Opal he was talking about. There’d been a time when I could turn a profit just by looking at a unit. Now, five months later, I was homeless, starving, and dependent on Nik’s charity to keep me off the street. No wonder he was curious. It was quite the precipitous fall. I just wished I had an explanation to give him, but I didn’t, because even though I was the one who’d lived through it, I wasn’t entirely sure what had happened either.
“I’ve had some bad luck.”
“No one’s luck is that bad,” Nik said, pushing off the wall so he could face me directly. “What happened, Opal? Where did your money go? Did someone shake you down? Are you in debt to the mob? You don’t look like you have a raging drug habit, so what is it?”
Under any other circumstances, that interrogation would have been insulting, but I actually liked Nik’s bluntness. It made him sound as if he cared, which was something I didn’t get a lot of these days. “Nothing so dramatic,” I said with a shrug. “I’ve just had a long spell where none of the units I bought Cleaned for enough to earn my money back. Spend five months putting out more than you take in and you go broke.”
“It can’t be that simple,” he pressed, leaning closer. “I saw what you did to yourself up on the railings. Why did you push so hard?”
“Hey, you were getting shot at, too,” I reminded him. “I didn’t see you surrendering.”
“Because I’m used to this sort of thing,” Nik said, reaching up to tap the metal part of his chest. “I’ve been risking my life for money for years. I’m made for it. You’re not. Like you said in the car, you’re a Cleaner. We’re all looking for the next big score, but you’re acting like you’re going to die if you don’t make this work. Why? What’s got you so desperate?”
That was none of his business, but I didn’t get the feeling Nik was pushing to be rude. He looked really concerned, and that was touching enough to convince me to tell him what I hadn’t told anyone since I’d come to this city.
“I’m in debt.”
“Thought so,” Nik said with a sharp nod. “Who is it? Loan sharks? Gangers? Someone who’s going to break your kneecaps if you don’t pay?”
“It’s nothing like that,” I said quickly, and then I took a long breath. “It’s my dad.”
Now he just looked confused. “You owe money to your dad?”
“For college,” I said, nodding. “I got a graduate degree in magical art history from the Institute for Magical Arts. It was really expensive.”
Nik dragged a hand over his face. “Let me make sure I’ve got this straight,” he said. “You’ve been risking your life and dodging bullets so you can get money to pay your dad back for college?”
“Well, technically, I was Cleaning to get money to pay him back for college,” I said. “The bullets are a new development. But yes, that’s more or less correct.”
“Why?” he demanded. “Why even go into Cleaning if you have a graduate degree? Even when you’re not running afoul of guys like Kauffman, it’s a dirty, dangerous job. What sort of father lets his daughter put herself at risk just so he can get his money back?”
“He doesn’t let me,” I said angrily. “I chose Cleaning because I was good at it and because it was the only work I could find that paid enough to cover my expenses. Everything was going great until my luck went south. That’s why I need this job so badly. I haven’t missed a payment yet, but if I can’t get ten thousand dollars by midnight on Friday, I’m toast. If we can find Dr. Lyle’s cockatrice eggs, though, I’ll be saved.”
“I get that part,” Nik said, his voice frustrated. “But…he’s your dad. This is a college loan, not a gambling debt to a mob boss who’s going to drop you in the river if you don’t pay. I’m guessing asking for an extension is out or you would have done that already, but it can’t possibly be this bad.”
I almost laughed at that. “You don’t know my father.”
“I don’t think I want to,” Nik said bitterly. “What kind of man is all right with his daughter risking her life to pay back his money on time?”
In fairness, my dad didn’t know about that part. If he had, he would have put an end to it at once, but not for the reasons Nik was implying. He would have made me stop because damage would lessen my value, and if there was anything in his treasury that couldn’t take a price hit, it was me.
A pretty gem of very little worth.
“No offense,” Nik said darkly. “But your dad sounds like an ass.”
“Oh, he is,” I agreed. “But happy as I am to lay all the blame at his feet, the loan was actually my idea. He didn’t want me to leave home at all. The only way I could convince him to let me go away to school was if it was something I couldn’t get in Korea. That was why I chose IMA. It’s the best magical arts school in the world, which was the level it took to make him say yes. He only considers things worthy of his attention if they’re world class.” And he’d thought I was doing it for him, that I was trying to bring myself up to his level at last. It had been a dirty trick, but it was the only way I could think of to escape.
“When I graduated, he came to collect me,” I went on. “But I refused to leave the DFZ. When he tried to force me, I made him a deal. If he let me stay, I’d pay back all the money he’d spent to send me here. If I paid it all off, he’d let me go. If I failed, I’d go home.”
“Why would he agree to that?” Nik asked. “From what you’ve said so far, your dad doesn’t sound like someone who takes no for an answer. Why didn’t he just make you go home?”
“Because he wanted me to go willingly.” I could still see the anger on his face. His fury at my defiance was the most terrifying thing I’d ever faced. Scarier than being shot at. Scarier than even the Empty Wind. The only reason I hadn’t crumpled was because I’d known it was my only chance. “He could have dragged me home kicking and screaming, but then he would have had to lock me up to keep me from running away. That would have made him look bad, which is the only thing he’s actually afraid of. That’s why I offered him the loan. He thought he was making a safe bet, that there was no way I could pay back so much money and I’d be forced to retreat with my tail between my legs. He didn’t know when we agreed that I’d already discovered Cleaning.”
“I get it,” Nik said, his face breaking into a grin. “You tricked him.”
“Oh yeah, I played him good,” I said, grinning back. “I let him believe that I had no idea how much money I owed and that I was planning to work some entry-level museum gig. I even had a job lined up so the ruse would look legit. He was furious when he found out I was making real money somewhere else, but by then it was too late. The deal had already been made.”
“And you think he’ll keep his end?” Nik asked.
I nodded. “My dad’s an ass, but he’s an ass of his word. He has a very high opinion of his honor, so if you can get him to make one, he always keeps his promises. That’s why he usually only makes deals that are grossly in his favor, but I got him. It took me years to set it up, but I played him for a fool. Now I just have to see it through. I’m almost there, too. You were right earlier, I was making bank as a Cleaner. If I hadn’t hit this stupid bad-luck streak, my debt would already be paid off. That’s why I need to see this job through no matter what. If I can just get that money, I can pay my dad the rest of what I owe, and then I’ll be free.”
Just saying that word made my whole body tingle. I’d been working on this plan for so long now, I couldn’t remember a time
when it hadn’t been on my mind. That was why I was so desperate. I’d invested so much already, put so much on the line. I couldn’t stumble here at the finish line. I couldn’t.
“At least this explains why you’re so gung ho,” Nik said, rubbing the back of his neck. “It was bothering me. The world is full of people who’ll do really stupid things for money. Most of them live in the DFZ, but you didn’t strike me as the ‘sell your mother’ type.”
“Don’t give me too much credit,” I warned him. “My mother’s worth a lot of money.”
Nik gave me a scathing look. “Don’t even try. If you were only in this for the money, you would have sold all those collectibles we moved out of your apartment. You wouldn’t even have brought them home.” He held up two fingers. “There are two kinds of Cleaners: those who are in it for the stuff and those who are in it for the money. You’re a stuff Cleaner.”
“And you’re a money Cleaner,” I said, looking pointedly around at his empty apartment.
“Absolutely,” he said. “That’s important. If you don’t know what people want, you can’t trust them. That’s why I asked what had happened to you. I wasn’t trying to be nosy. I just had to be sure I knew what was driving you, because as soon as Rena cracks that hand, we’re going right back into the fray, and I don’t want to be caught by any more surprises like the one on the walkway.”
In fairness, that had surprised me as well. It wasn’t like I’d planted my feet and chosen that ramp to die on. I’d just done what I’d needed to do to win at the time, and things had gotten out of hand. So, pretty much the story of my life, in other words.
“What about you?” I asked, tilting my head back so I could see his face better. “That’s my story, but why are you fighting so hard for this? I mean, it can’t just be for the money.”
“Why not?” Nik asked sharply. “Money’s the reason people do most things.”
“Yeah, but not take a bullet.”
“Depends on the bullet.”
“Come on,” I said. “Me being crazy is one thing. I’ve got my freedom riding on this. But you can’t spend your money if you’re dead.”
He flashed me a cocky look. “It takes a lot more than a few thugs to kill me. Tonight was hairy, sure, but I’ve gotten through way worse for a lot less. This is my first chance at a big payout in a long time. Of course I’m going to chase it hard.”
That made a Nik-ish amount of sense. “Good to know you’re all in on this.”
“If you’re not going all in, why go at all?” he said, leaning forward. “The important thing, though, is that we’re both in. That makes us business partners, at least until this job is done, so from here forward, please tell me what you’re going to do before you do it. I really hate surprises.”
“I’ll try,” I said. “But I’m a ‘make it up as I go’ kind of mage, so no promises. If I’m going to be telling you my plans, though, the same has to go for you. No more taking me to weird places without explaining why we’re there or what parts of the infrastructure I’m not supposed to blow up.”
“I didn’t think that was going to be an issue,” Nik said grudgingly. “But fair enough. We share information and work together until we both get rich. Deal?”
“Deal,” I said, putting out my hand.
Nik took it with his left hand, squeezing my palm tight with fingers that felt like real, warm flesh through his thin glove. I was wondering if that meant they were actually real or if I was just experiencing some really good cybernetics when Nik let me go. “That’s better,” he said, letting out what sounded like a relieved breath. “Now that we’re both on the same page, let’s get some sleep.”
Sweeter words had never touched my ears. “Do you have a blanket or something I could borrow?” I asked hopefully. “It’s nice to be somewhere with working AC, but your floor looks hard.”
“You don’t have to sleep on the floor,” Nik said. “I have a cot.”
It was a sign of just how low my life had sunk that that statement made me genuinely excited. I jumped out of the chair and took my plate to the sink to wash it off while Nik pulled a folded camp cot I hadn’t noticed before out of the back of his closet. I would have done the rest of the dishes, too, but Nik had already taken care of those while I was in the shower. I took the time to brush my teeth instead while Nik went out to his car. When he came back, he was carrying a black sleeping bag stuffed into a sack the size of a bowling ball.
“You never know when you’re going to need to sleep out,” he said in response to my funny look, shaking the silky bag out of its sack and spreading it over the cot. “Are you good?”
“I’m great,” I said without a trace of irony, grinning down at the cot and sleeping bag like they were a king bed at the Ritz. “Thank you so much again for putting me up.”
He shrugged. “We’re business partners now. I need you alert and not exhausted.”
“It’s still very kind of you.”
Nik looked a lot less comfortable with that comment than he had with the helping-a-business-partner angle. “It’s nothing,” he muttered, keeping his eyes down as he picked up his gun off the table and strode a little too quickly into his bedroom. “Knock if you need anything.”
I knew better than to knock on the door of a man who took a gun to bed, but I told him I would and lay down on the cot, which creaked like an old rocking chair. I barely heard it. Now that I was fed and washed, I was so tired I could have passed out on the floor. I didn’t even bother getting inside the sleeping bag. The moment I stopped being vertical, I was out, falling asleep on top of the silky fabric before Nik could finish closing his door.
Chapter 9
I woke to the sound of someone knocking.
I sat bolt upright, cursing under my breath as my back twinged painfully, reminding me that cots, though better than cement floors, were still not beds. I was trying to get my spine working again when Nik burst out of his bedroom with his gun.
He must have been in the middle of a shower, because his dark hair was dripping wet. He’d managed to throw some jeans on, but his feet were bare. He also wasn’t wearing a shirt.
That made me gasp, but not for salacious reasons. I was staring because, now that his shirt wasn’t in the way, I was finally able to see just how much cyberwear Nik was packing. He’d shown me his metal shoulders on the walkway, but I saw now that his entire right arm was fake as well. It was covered in synthetic skin, so it wasn’t obvious like his metal chest, but there was no hiding the articulated joints on his right hand, which explained why he always wore gloves.
His left arm looked real, at least below the shoulder, but he had flesh-colored metal plates protecting his ribs on both sides that went all the way down into his jeans, making me wonder just how much of himself he’d replaced. His bare feet were legit, though, leaving a trail of wet footprints on the floor as he ran silently to press his back against the wall beside the front door—the source of the knocking.
It sounded again as he got into position, snapping me out of my gawking. Heart pounding, I grabbed Nik’s armored jacket off the back of the chair where he’d left it last night and tossed it at him. He caught it with his left hand, eyes flicking pointedly to my poncho, which was still on the floor where I’d dropped it.
I shook my head. Idiot that I was, I hadn’t recharged my wards last night. I’d been too focused on food and sleep and showers and other things that felt petty and frivolous right now. As a result, what should have been my most expensive and reliable magical safety device was just a giant tarp, so I left it lying on the floor and pulled magic into my hands instead.
The first flux didn’t hurt too bad, but the flow started to burn like hell once I reached serious levels. Clearly, whatever I’d done to myself yesterday was still hanging around. I could still move the magic, but it felt like trying to run on a pulled knee. It was all I had, though, so I gritted my teeth and pushed through. It might have been nothing—a door-to-door salesman, a Jehovah’s Witness, a lost delivery
person—but given that one knock had been enough to bring Nik running out of the shower with gun in hand, I didn’t think he got many idle visitors down here. With my luck it was probably a mercenary team come to drag us back to Kauffman, so I braced for the worst, pulling as much magic as I could stand into my glowing fists before I nodded at Nik.
With a sharp nod back, Nik zipped his armored jacket over his wet torso and placed his free hand on the doorknob. Then, moving so fast my eyes could barely follow, he yanked the door open and shoved his arm out, pointing his gun into the face of the person on the other side.
By this point, I’d smashed the magic I’d pulled into my hands into a ball for throwing. I was hauling back to lob it at our attacker when I forced myself to stop short. The person standing in the doorway wasn’t a mercenary or even a thug like the ones who’d shot at us yesterday. It was a lovely Korean woman only a few years older than myself. Stunningly lovely, with a face so perfectly symmetrical it scarcely looked real. Nik’s gun actually bobbed for a split second when he saw her. To his credit, he recovered almost immediately, but not before the young woman spotted me standing behind him.
Her dark eyes lit up with a cruel delight that made my stomach curdle, and then she bowed respectfully, folding her hands over the skirt of her demure but extremely expensive blue silk skirt. “Lady Opal,” she said, her lovely voice speaking the words in English with only the slightest trace of an accent. “Your father requests the pleasure of your company.”
Gun still up, Nik turned slightly and flicked his gray eyes back to me. Father? he mouthed.
I was too panicked to be subtle. “Shut the door!” I yelled. “Shut it now! Before—”
Nik was moving to do as I asked when a pale hand reached out from the stairwell to grab the door. The long, elegant fingers didn’t push, didn’t strain at all, but they stopped Nik cold, leaving him shoving futilely against the metal door. When he realized it wasn’t going anywhere, he backed up to stand guard beside me as the beautiful woman shuffled to the rear of the stairwell, making room so that the man who’d caught the door could step forward.
